It had been a long time since anyone had known the name of the tribe. Everyone simply referred to them as just that: The Tribe. Of course, they weren't just a bunch of savages who didn't know any better. They were powerful sorcerers and skilled fighters. Perhaps a little too powerful and skilled.
The Elders of the Tribe had been meeting that day to discus the preparations for the coming winter. It was only the day before Solstice but they had learned many times over that the sooner they began, the easier it became to prepare. As they were discussing where to build another storage hut a woman entered the room. She was tall, dressed in purples and gold, and was known as one of the most powerful sorceresses in the land. Boldly she walked up, not caring that she was disturbing a meeting of some of the most powerful people in the Tribe, and put her hands on the table.
"I am Majora." she said, no-nonsense. "I am the Chieftain of this tribe now. You will bend to my wishes or I shall destroy you."
The Elders looked at her. They knew already that she could carry out her threat. They knew also that while she may act the part, she was not invincible.
"I'm afraid we cannot do that." said one calmly.
"Oh? And why not?" Majora demanded as she raised her hands from the table.
"We may not have a choice. But the people will not agree to it. They will see through such a mask and will rebel against our orders. To grant you the title of Chieftain, you must be instated the correct way." another answered.
"You must have the people's vote." a third said. "Otherwise they will reject you, no matter the cost on their lives."
"Then get me the people's vote!" Majora demanded. A fireball, somewhat darker than normal fire, appeared in her hand. "If you do not, one of you will be consumed by this dark fire. It will be a lingering, painful death. Now go."
"We will think on the best methods." the first said. "Leave us for a time, if you wish to know the best way to win the hearts of the people."
Grumbling, Majora left. The Elders immediately changed their communication to the Old Tongue, one that had not been spoken since the time of the Wind People or before.
"What should we do?" asked the second. "She is powerful enough to destroy the Tribe! Everyone saw her power in her aura!"
"We did." the first answered. "We have few options. We could give in, and maybe preserve a few lives, but I know that many others would be killed. We could fight her, but that would mean even more death and carnage. I do not see a good option." He looked to the forth member of the council. His name was long forgotten, much like the Tribe's, and he was ancient by anyone's standards. While he was always at the councils, he never said more than yea or nay. He was, or at least thought to be, able to see the future and know of what was to come. "My friend, what do you say?"
The ancient Elder looked up, and for the first time in many decades spoke. "That which we have seen in her aura is nothing. Her power extends far beneath and above her. Only one of destiny can destroy her, and one of destiny is coming now. Find Oni, the man named after the demon. He and only he, with his mighty skill and enchanted sword, can defeat Majora now."
The first nodded. "Thank you." He called in a messenger and told him to find the one called Oni. He was to go in secret and not tell anyone of his errand. Majora was waiting for him though, and caught him. She tortured him until he told of his errand, and with that Majora slew him. She rushed to the village, killing any who got in her way, and stormed into the Elder's Council.
"So," she sneered, "you thought to destroy me. But you are too weak, and so is this Oni you sought. He was not found, and the messenger is dead. I should have killed you all at the beginning, but now I will make your deaths as long and painful as I can!" as she spoke her voice raised and fire began to form in her hands. Faster than any thought possible, the ancient Elder rose and jumped between Majora and the other Elders. His staff slammed the ground, and an invisible barrier stopped the fireballs in their tracks.
"You deign to try and stop me?" she laughed. "Then you will see the true meaning of pain!"
"HALT!" a powerful voice commanded from behind her. Majora turned around and saw a tall, well-built man looking at her. A huge double-helix sword was resting on his back and a white conical hat hid most of his white hair. The fierce look on his face alone had the power to shake a mountain.
Majora sneered again. "Well well well, if it isn't Oni." She said, nearly spitting the last word. "Oni the Peacekeeper, Oni the Protector, Oni this, Oni that. Have you come to slay me too?"
"How quickly things change." Oni said, unperturbed by Majora's comments. "One moment, we were in love. The next, we were bitter enemies. Tell me, what happened to our son?"
Majora laughed. "Our son? Our son? Your son! I have no love for him, no, not even though I gave him life. I casted him in the river, and what happened to him then I know not."
"There is still a chance." Oni said. "You can still return. I will not hinder you, nor get in your way. You have the choice. Will you stay in this bitter place, or will you come back to the light?"
Majora laughed, a trace of insanity in his voice. "Return? NO! I would rather die than return to the likes of you and yours!" Her fire slammed into Oni, who was thrown back through a wall. Majora jumped through, kicking him while spinning on her toes. But Oni was tougher than he looked, and very quickly was standing with sword in hand.
"You chose your path, as much as I regret it. I had a little hope. Now, though, it is gone." They began fighting in earnest, and the fight lasted long into the night. With his sword Oni slashed and blocked. With her sorcery Majora healed herself and flung fire and curses at Oni. When the sun finally rose it was to a red sky. Fire burned all around them, a ring forming around Majora and Oni. Majora smiled.
"No way out, Oni." she said with a cruel smile. "No way out. You are too weak to go much farther, and I still have some strength left." She raised her hands as she prepared to launch another fireball at Oni. This one would be larger, enough to kill him. Oni knew what he had to do. With the last remains of his power he ran forward and stabbed Majora through the heart.
Majora screamed, releasing the fireball. It slammed into Oni, throwing him back several feet. But despite all this, Majora laughed.
"So you fall, Oni." she said laboring to speak. "But though you stabbed me, I will not die. No, my heart long ago died."
From the fire, a strange tune began to sound as if from a flute. It started with three notes, going down in pitch that repeated three times, followed immediately by three lower notes that went down then up. Three more flutes entered in off just enough to make a round out of the melody. The whole melody repeated itself again and Majora screamed.
"What is this! What magic is this!" she screamed again, then began to glow. There was a flash of light, and where Majora had once stood was a purple heart-shaped mask with gold spikes and yellow eyes.
The Elders came forward, the fire parting to let them through. They were sad as they looked at Oni.
"Her power has been contained." the first said. "She will not trouble us any more."
"But she will come forward again." the fourth said. "Someday, she will trouble a land far distant from here."
"Then what is to be done?" the second asked.
Oni was the one to answer. "Use the song on me. Change me into a mask. I was told that my son or one of his descendents would wield my power, through a mask that held me. Do so, I beg of you, for I am near death now and not all the healers in the world could stop me from crossing death's door."
"You have been told well," the fourth answered, "and your request is pure. I will grant you your wish." he put his flute to his lips and began the song again, while the others joined in. There was another flash of light and Oni disappeared, replaced with a mask resembling his face.
"It is as I saw it." the fourth said. "And so it will be. For what Oni did not know was that there were twins, a boy and a girl, and both have been rescued. From the girl a kingdom shall rise that become the bulwark between a great evil and the Triforce. From the boy a line of heroes shall come, protectors of the Triforce. But one of them, he will wear the mask. And through him, the power of Majora will finally be destroyed."
"Is there no way to destroy Majora's Mask now?" asked the third.
"No." the fourth said. "Only Oni or one of his blood can destroy Majora now. But the masks still hold much power. We must hide them from the world, lest the fall into the wrong hands. When the time is right, Majora and Oni will fight again. However, Oni will prevail and Majora will finally be destroyed. The evil that ensnared her heart will be purified and maybe, just maybe, they can be together again."
The Elders took the masks and cast Oni into the void. Majora they placed deep in a temple, where it lay until another tribe stole it and used it to hex their enemies. When Majora's Mask nearly wiped them out they put it back in the temple, where the ancient magic kept it at bay. There, in temple and void, the two masks lay untouched until on man with a hug bag of masks found the temple and took Majora's Mask. Later, a child with straw hair and a green tunic and hat received Oni's Mask, then called the Fierce Deity Mask. He put it on, and the final battle between the two began. And like the Elder had predicted, Oni won the battle. Before the child was transported away, he could have sworn he saw a tall, powerful, handsome man with an equally powerful and beautiful woman by his side. They were holding hands and waved in thanks. Though he never understood what he saw, or was even sure he saw it, he had ended a pain that had been in the hearts of two people for thousands of years and ended an evil that was far older.
Author's Note:
As it turns out, the origin of Majora's Mask has already been explained in the manga. Normally I would take the story down due to direct conflicts with the canon. I'll twist things until they cry uncle, like I did with Exile, and even snap or ignore a few points like in Final Fantasy, but I try not to break the canon too badly. However, since I can't find anything that says the manga's version is canonical (and I've found a few sources that say otherwise) I'll leave this up and not drop it into the bottomless pit of the 'Personal Stash' folder of my hard drive quite yet.